As in German gray. Blumen in German with translation. Black color in German idioms
The perception of color is related to a person’s perception of the surrounding world. Therefore, the designations of various colors and their shades inevitably find their reflection in the language system. However, in different languages, color designation and, accordingly, color rendering are not done in the same way. The German vocabulary used to convey the color scheme has its own national characteristics and is naturally connected with the history and traditions of the German people.
To convey color in German, you need to become familiar with the basic vocabulary related to color, as well as peripheral color vocabulary - additional color shades. Each individual primary color forms a kind of core, the center of the family, around which words are grouped that are directly related to this color and convey all its various shades.
Russian color designation | ||
PRIMARY COLORS |
||
red | rotorangelb | das Rot |
orange | dasOrange | |
yellow | das Gelb | |
green | das Grün | |
blue | das Blau | |
violet | das Violette |
Russian color designation | German color notation (adjective) | German color notation (noun) |
lilac | lila | das Lila |
white | weiss | das Weiss |
black | schwarz | das Schwarz |
brown | braun | das Braun |
terracotta | terracotta, terracotta | das Terrakota |
grey | grau | das Grau |
pink | rosa | dasRosa |
burgundy | bordeaux | dasBordeaux |
beige | beige | das Beige |
Color designations in the German language can be based on a wide variety of motives associated with almost any area of human life and activity, as well as the surrounding nature and animal world. The designation of shades of the primary color can be conveyed by comparing the base color with the color of certain trees, fruits, landscapes, seasons, substances, minerals, proper names, drinks, etc. (for example, tannengrün - dark green color comparable to the color of spruce needles; tomatenrot - matte red color, comparable to the color of ripe tomatoes; maigrün - bright green color, reminiscent of the color of fresh spring greenery; safari - the color of a sun-scorched African savannah, etc.). In the described situation, adjectives denoting color can be either simple or complex (consisting of two stems). Compound adjectives can also be formed by adding two stems, the first of which is the adjectives light (hell-), dark (dunkel-), medium saturation, intensity (mittel-), deep (tief-), and the second is color, the shade of which conveys this compound adjective, for example: dark red – dunkelrot; light green – hellgrün; medium blue – mittelblau.
Russian color designation | German color notation (adjective) |
flesh color | Fleischfarbe |
light pink | Zartrosa |
rosewood color | Rosenholz |
light pink | Hellrosa |
hot pink, rich pink with a slight bluish tint | Pink |
fuchsia color | Fuchsia |
light red | Hellrot |
orange-pink | Lachs |
coral red, coral | Korallenrot |
medium intensity red, visually perceived pure red color | Mittelrot |
orange-red, orange | Orangerot |
wine red, red wine colors | Weinrot |
burgundy | Bordeauxrot |
Dark red | Dunkelrot |
raspberry red | himbeerfarbig |
ruby red | Rubinrot |
blood red | Blutrot |
carmine red, scarlet, bright red | Karminrot |
purple-red, purple (“cool” red) | Purpurrot |
muted brownish red (autumn foliage color) | Herbstrot |
red clay color | Tonscherbenrot |
red-brown | Braunrot |
light green | Hellgrün |
pale green | Blassgrün |
poisonous green | Giftgrün |
olive green | Olivgrün |
aquamarine | Seegrün |
emerald green | Smaragdgrün |
blue-green | Jägergrün |
grass green | Grasgrün |
Maigrun | |
bright green color of spring greenery | Frühlingsgrün |
soft green | Lindgrün |
pistachio green | Pistaziengrun |
dark green color of spruce needles | Tannengrun |
medium green color | Mittelgrün |
dark green | Dunkelgrün |
gasoline color | Petrolgrün |
greenish blue | Blaugrun |
kiwi colors | Kiwi |
salad color | Salatfarbe |
khaki, marsh color | Khaki |
yellow neutral | Neutralgelb |
lemon yellow | Zitronengelb |
ripe corn color | Maisgelb |
brownish yellow | Indischgelb |
golden yellow | Goldgelb |
light yellow, straw yellow | Hellgelb |
brownish yellow, curry color | Currygelb |
sand color | Sandgelb |
canary yellow, canary | Kanariengelb |
color of mustard | Senffarbe |
champagne color | Champagner |
vanilla color | Vanilla |
calm yellow medium intensity | Mittelgelb |
light brown | Hellbraun |
medium brown color | Mittelbraun |
dark brown | Dunkelbraun |
dark brown | Tiefbraun |
chocolate brown, chocolate | Schokoladenbraun |
black-brown | Schwarzbraun |
orange-brown | Orangebrown |
yellow-brown | Gelbbraun |
deep brown | Maronenbraun |
chestnut | Kastanienbraun |
brown color with ocher tint | Ockerbraun |
coffee | Kaffeebraun |
earthy brown, earthy | Erdbraun |
red-brown | Rotbraun |
brick color | Ziegelfarbe |
nutty, light brown | Haselnussbraun |
terracotta, the color of baked clay | Terracotta |
light brown, wheat | Weizenbraun |
linen color | Leinenfarbe |
taupe | Graubraun |
cream | Cremefarbe |
golden brown | Goldbrown |
brown color with a bronze tint (tint) | Bronzefarbe |
pale blue | Blassblau |
light blue, light blue | Hellblau |
medium blue color | Mitteblau |
Navy blue | Dunkelblau |
very dark blue | Nachtblau |
cobalt blue, a bright, rich shade of blue | Kobaltblau |
royal blue, pure and bright blue color | Königsblau |
sea blue, ultramarine | Marineblau |
blue denim, the color of classic denim | Jeansblau |
indigo blue | Indigoblau |
arctic blue, light blue | Arktisblau |
polar blue, light blue | Polarblau |
turquoise | Türkisblau |
light turquoise | Hellturkis |
smoky blue | Rauchblau |
blue-black, inky color | Schwarzblau |
bright blue, sky blue, azure | Azurblau |
blue with a hint of purple | Violettblau |
gray-blue | Graublau |
sky blue | Himmelblau |
cornflower blue | Kornblumenblau |
light purple | Hellviolet |
medium purple color | Mittelviolet |
dark purple | Dunkelviolet |
violet | Veilchen-Violette |
light lilac | Helllila |
dark purple | Dunkelilla |
deep dark purple | Tieflila |
plum color | Pflaume |
eggplant color | Aubergine |
lavender color | Lavendel |
lilac | Flieder |
The color palette of the surrounding world is very complex and diverse. The transfer of various color shades in a large number of cases is directly related to the images of specific objects with which certain colors are associated in the human mind, for example: fuchsia color - Fuchsia, classic denim color - Jeansblau, coffee color - Kaffeebraun, eggplant color - Aubergine, deep dark -blue color (color of night) - Mitternachstblau, etc.
In general, regarding the vocabulary associated with the transmission of color in German, we can say that it is much more specific, that is, there are much more lexical units for conveying color shades in the German language than in Russian. In this sense, the Russian language is prone to a more abstract rendering of colors and their shades and, for the most part, gravitates towards the use of colors from the main (basic) spectrum in almost all life situations.
Collections often pop up, which sometimes amaze with the thematic number of words. Well, for example, a list of animal names. In real life, we can immediately name about 10-15 of the most frequently used animals in our language, but other, less noticeable creatures remain in the shadows.
And naturally, we will not be able to name them in any other foreign language. You can also remember the selection with the names of fruits. I don’t argue that you know most of the names, but some simply fade into the background, which is not very good if you work for any fruit company. It's not just about fruits, remember at least the names of stationery in your target language (selection) and you will understand what you still have to teach and teach.
Today we will study another similar collection, which will become a useful source of information for many fans. Before you start studying, name all the flowers (Blumen) that you know in German? I think the first place will be rose (Rosa), lily (Lilie), right? You will be surprised, but the list of flowers (Blumen) in German is as large as in our native language.
Naturally, we will not study any exotic names, but only the most popular and frequently used ones.
List of studied flower names in German:
Aster- aster (Aster L.); callistephus (Callistephus Cass.)
Begonie- begonia (Begonia L.)
Chrysantheme- chrysanthemum (Indicum) (Chrysanthemum (indicum) L.)
Gänseblümchen- daisy (Bellis L.)
Gladiole- fennel, gladiolus (Gladiolus L.)
Lowenzahn- dandelion (Taraxacum Wigg.)
Nelke- clove (Dianthus L.)
Orchidee- orchid
Rose- rose (Rosa L.)
Vergißmeinnicht- forget-me-not (Myosotis L.)
Dahlie- dahlia; dahlia (Dahlia Cav.)
Gartennelke- garden carnation [Dutch] (Dianthus caryophyllus L.)
Ringelblume— calendula (Calendula L.); marigold
Sonnenblume— sunflower (Helianthus L.)
Alpenveilchen- Alpine violet (Cyclamen L.)
Pelargonie- pelargonium (Pelargonium L'Hér.); pelargonium, geranium
Stiefmütterchen— tricolor violet, pansy (Viola tricolor L.)
Veilchen- violet (Viola L.)
Krokus- saffron (Crocus L.)
Lilie- lily (Lilium L.)
Lotos- lotus (Nelumbium Juss.)
Maiglöckchen- lily of the valley (May) (Convallaria (majalis) L.)
Narzisse- narcissus (Narcissus L.)
Schneeglöckchen- snowdrop (Galanthus L.)
Tulpe- tulip (Tulipa L.)
Lavendel- lavender (Lavandula L.)
Tigerlilie— tiger lily (Lilium tigrinum Ker-Gawl.)
Hyazinth- So. Hyacinth (beautiful young man)
Kamelli- camellia (Camellia L.)
Flieder- lilac (Syringa L.)
There is one misfire. There is no correct article before the name, somehow I missed this point. But this is not a problem, because you can simply edit the card in your own way.
Selection in format for Lingvo Tutor 12
Selection in text format with transcription
Colors in German are one of the first topics that language learners learn. The main and most necessary colors are:
Well, you can also add the colors you need to this list:
Although there are many colors - or rather shades, of each of the listed colors... For example, you can add the words dunkel or hell to make the color darker or lighter.
Look: the word “red” has a decent bunch of synonyms: dunkelrot (dark red), hellrot (light red), weinrot (burgundy), rötlich (reddish), glutrot (crimson), rosarot (rose-red), blutrot ( blood red), feuerrot (fiery red), purpurrot (purple), knallrot (bright red). But how often do we need such an accurate description of all shades??
And I’ll tell you about some aspects of the use of flowers in German:
Sometimes the names of flowers in German are written with a small letter, in other cases with a capital letter.
So with the little one, when they answer the question wie? - Which? and are adjectives. For example: ein blaues Kleid, der Stoff ist blau.
With a capital letter - if it answers the question what? - transforming into a noun. In such cases, color is often preceded by prepositions such as auf, bei, in or pronouns - mein,sein.
Wir gehen bei Grün über die Straße. - We are crossing the road on green.
Diese Schuhe in Schwarz und Blau zu haben.– These shoes are available in black and blue.
Ich liebe das Blau seiner Augen.– I love the blue of his eyes.
In addition, the name of the color is written with a capital letter in German:
1. if color is used as a proper name.
For example - Rotes Kreuz(Red Cross), Schwarzes Meer(Black Sea).
2. Names of historical events: Schwarzer Freitag(Black Friday).
3. Special calendar days: der Weisser Sonntag(White Sunday)
4. And concepts like these: Roter Milan(Red Milan), Schwarze Witwe(Black Widow).
Also, colors in German can have a comparative degree!! The German grass may be greener, the sky bluer, and the dress yellower.
Diese Wiese ist noch grüner.- This meadow is even greener.
The only exceptions are colors consisting of two words, for example the above dunkelrot. Such flowers do not have comparative degrees.
Colors in German: interesting idioms!!!
Colors in German are sometimes used not in their literal meaning, but in idioms.
Let's start with my favorite blue color:
Blau sein- be drunk. I already wrote about this in the article
Blau machen- take a day off
blauäugig– literally – blue-eyed, and figuratively: naive
ein blaues Wunder erleben- listen to a tall tale
jemandem das Blaue vom Himmel versprechen- promise a star from the sky.
jemandem blauen Dunst vormachen- pull the wool over someone's eyes
Black color in German idioms:
Schwarzarbeit– menial work for which the employer and employee do not pay the necessary taxes.
Schwarz fahren– ride on public transport like a hare.
Schwarz sehen- look at everything pessimistically
sich schwarz ärgern- get very angry, until you turn black
Warten bis man schwarz wird.- wait a very, very long time, again until it turns black.
eine schwarze Seele haben- to have a black soul, that is, to be evil.
German idioms with the word “white”:
Halbgötter in Weiß- demigods in white. Who is this??? Yes, yes, doctors!
eine weiße Maus sehen– to see a white mouse – that is, something very unusual, rare.
eine weiße Weste haben- have an unblemished reputation
Interesting idioms using green:
Einen grünen Daumen haben- be a good gardener
Grün vor Neid– green with envy
Grün vor Stolz– green with pride
noch grün hinter dem Ohren sein– be green, inexperienced
Er ist mir nicht ganz grün– I don’t trust him
sich grün machen- think a lot about yourself
Yellow in German idioms:
das Gelbe vom Ei– egg yolk, figuratively: something better
der Gelbe Neid- black envy
And finally, about the color red:
roten Kopf bekommen- Blush with embarrassment
auf jemanden wie ein rotes Touch wirken- to make someone angry like a bull with a red scarf
Heute Rot, morgen tot.- Today in purple, tomorrow in the grave.
This is all about colors in German, if you liked the idioms, then you can find a few more in the article about animals, about a pig, and in the near future I will post many more new and interesting stable German expressions. See you!!!